


Not Your Fault

by SilverFliesInBlueSugar



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abused Chara (Undertale), Cutting, Female Chara (Undertale), Female Frisk (Undertale), Flashbacks, Genocide Route Frisk (Undertale), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nice Chara (Undertale), Past Child Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 16:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17626034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverFliesInBlueSugar/pseuds/SilverFliesInBlueSugar
Summary: Sans counted to 10 in his head before using his magic to force open the door.And...He knew if he had to breathe he would have had trouble doing so at that moment.





	Not Your Fault

Chara had been acting strangely lately. Had been ever since she had been given a body.

Sans, in contrast, had finally STOPPED acting strangely. The first month or so after they had gotten to the surface he had been rather subdued and quiet, awaiting nervously a reset he feared to happen. They were on reset #107 and had reached the surface for the 13th time, so he was understandably a little antsy.

But this time... There seemed to be finality. Frisk seemed settled, truly, not just bored or mopey. The evil glimmer he had been accustomed to seeing in her eyes the past timelines was replaced by childish glee as she sketched a bunch of cartoon characters. She may be 14, but she was still a small child at heart.

Chara was the opposite. Also 14, though going on 15, she acted more like she was about to become 18, calm, quiet, mature and helpful.

Of course, being a teen yet, she still had fits of neurosis and tantrums and shouting matches, but they were... Uncommon.

They always felt somehow... off. And Sans knew it must be connected to how weirdly the girl was acting.

She stayed indoors almost all the time, refusing to go to school, demanding to be homeschooled. She never looked at them in the eyes when she talked to them, and she rarely spoke to them anyway. Not even Frisk.

She wore her green and yellow jumper constantly, and, according to Frisk, even slept with it on sometimes. She always had on baggy brown or black trousers, no matter the weather. She had refused to give up her genocide knife, and yet after a month of this she still hadn't hurt anyone, as far as anyone could see.

Yet her bedsheets had dried blood on them when Toriel went to wash them.

Sans had grilled her, angry, asking if she had hurt or killed someone. He knew that she wasn't at fault for the genocides, knew Frisk was the true perpetrator, but paranoia twisted his mind. Her face had twisted in visceral rage and hatred, screaming at him to _get the fuck away from me!_ when he reached to grab her. 

Her eyes had went black and started oozing such a strange black substance, the pallor of her skin akin to chalk, her mouth turning into a gaping, smiling void, and the deja vu had been so strong that he had fallen back, wind roaring so loudly in his ears that he couldn't hear Frisk screaming at him to get up, because he could still see the child across from him...

Could still see the bones shredding her flesh, the blood and dust that splattered across the golden passageway, could still see the flash of silver and his brother falling, falling, falling...

Frisk slapped him.

He jolted out of his flashback, panting with shrunken eyelights, to see Chara staring at him with fear and guilt. She obviously hadn't meant to scare him that badly. He reached out to her - to say _what,_ he didn't know - but she fled before he could get a word out.

An hour after that, when he was settled, he went to talk to her.

He knocked on her bedroom door. "Chara."

Silence.

"Chara. I know you're in there so ya might as well just open up"

"...Go away"

"No. Open it now or i will"

"Fuck off"

Sans counted to 10 in his head before using his magic to force open the door.

And...

He knew if he had to breathe he would have had trouble doing so at that moment.

Because Chara was sat at the end of her bed, staring at him in shock, a knife dropping from her hand to the floor, with her sleeve and trousers rolled up to show hundreds of cuts - new and old, open and healed.

He had moved before he had time to process, blue magic flaring and tearing the blade from her hands and throwing it so hard it embedded itself in the far wall, sending his magic to the bathroom to teleport bandages and antiseptic.

She was unnervingly silent as he dabbed her wrists with ointment and wrapped them tightly, and then moved onto her thighs and ankles.

 _'Jesus fucking Christ..'_ he couldn't help but think as he stared at the damage. _'How long's she been doing this?'_

When he was finished he sighed and sat next to her, frowning in concern. "Kid? Why did you...?"

Chara sighed, turning from him, glassy tears appearing. "D-don't act dumb. I'm a fucking monster. I hurt you earlier even without realising it. I hurt so many people on the past timelines. All i do is cause harm, i-i'm less than worthless, i-!"

Sans' hand clamped down hard on hers, his other coming to cup her face to force her to look at him. "No. Stop. Listen."

She quieted.

"That shit earlier? Not your fault. I haven't been seeking counseling as often as i should be, so my hangups are my own. Not only that, but you clearly didn't intend to dreg up my PTSD. _And-_ " he quickly cut her off before she could interrupt, pressing a boned finger to her mouth to hush her. "All that crap that happened to cause my trauma? That was Frisk"

She stared at him in shock. "W-what?! You can't really beleive that, can you?! I told Frisk to do it, nagged her constantly as a ghost, was so full of hatred that i relentlessly dragged on and on at her until she caved! I made her do all of that!"

"Made?" Sans frowned. "Who picked up the knife? Who cut down my brother? Who _chose_ to hurt people? You didn't make her do anything. She was easily talked into it and everything she did was completely her choice. It's not your fault. You're not a 'monster', not in the insulting way, though you do display the sensetivity most of my kind does" he gave a crooked smile.

Chara was stunned silent, before she averted her eyes. 

"Then why did my parents hurt me and tell me i was one?"

She whispered it. It was so quiet. 

The lights in his skull flickered out, and for several seconds he couldn't find words.

When he next spoke, he sounded ragged. 

"Because they're idiots who didn't have the basic morality to raise a kid well enough that she could understand how great she is" he forced a grin onto his face, which became easier to maintain when she gave him a wobbly smile back. "Thanks, Sans"

"No prob, Bob" he patted her on the head. "You ever feel like doing this again, you come to me. Okay?"

She smiled truly. "Okay"


End file.
